The Annual PE Apparel sale is happening now until February 1. The store is online only. For more information go to the PE Blog. http://mvankoev.edublogs.org
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to EMILIE for always striving to learn more and be a kind friend!
First Grade Family Time – Here are our “award-winning” first graders from this week’s family time.
Mystery Reader – Ariya’s mom surprised us as a mystery reader this week!
OUR LEARNING:
Writing– This week we practiced writing our very own nonfiction book! We researched by looking at pictures in real books and used what we learned to add more details to our writing.
Word Study– We focused on snap words this week! We learned some new snap words, relearned some tricky snap words, and practiced building longer words with snap words inside of them.
Reading– We are coming to a close of our nonfiction reading unit. The kids have just loved it and tying it in with writing has been great. This week they found interesting facts to share with a partner, practiced reading with feeling, reading like a writer, and looked for keywords.
Math– This week we began unit 4 of math! We learned how to add groups of 10 together (60+10=70), write equations for teen numbers (10+5=15), and build numbers with ten sticks and circles.
Friday Journals were sent home on Thursday. Please take a few minutes to write back to your child this weekend. We will be reading these during our morning meeting throughout the week.
The official end of Semester 1 was Friday, January 15th. I’ll be finalizing report cards and they will be sent home Friday, January 22. Unfortunately, we won’t meet together until March for Parent-Teacher Conferences. I will do my best to be as thorough as possible and give explanations. Please know that we will continue to use the 1, 2, 3 scoring (while 3* is on the report card as advanced, we do not use this score). 2’s are totally acceptable and mean your child is growing on their way to where s/he needs to be by the end of the year.
The Annual PE Apparel sale is happening now until February 1. The store is online only. For more information go to the PE Blog. http://mvankoev.edublogs.org
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to MADI for always cheering others up.
Mystery Reader – Reagan’s mom surprised us as a mystery reader this week!
OUR LEARNING:
Writing– This week we practiced writing with details and helping readers pictures by using comparisons. We also practiced making lists in our nonfiction books and fixing up our books by pretending to be a reader.
Word Study– We practiced using ALL of the things we’ve learned about word to help us figure out big, long words! We also learned the importance of having a vowel in every syllable of a word, especially when we are writing words.
Reading– This week we tried to figure out what to do when we learned new words. We looked at clues around the word to see if we could find a way to figure out how to read the word and what it meant. We also worked on finding key words and making our voices sound smooth and fluent while we read.
Math– We took our Unit 3 test this week! Next week we will begin Unit 4 which will focus on place vale.
Social Emotional– We learned more about the parts of the brain (amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex) and how they control our emotions.
Friday Journals were sent home again today. Please take a few minutes to write back to your child this weekend. We will be reading these during our morning meeting throughout the week.
Please continue to read baggie books with your child EVERY night for 20 minutes.
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to REAGAN for always saying “I’ll try.”
First Grade Family Time – Here are our “award-winning” first graders from this week’s family time.
OUR LEARNING:
Writing – We continued our unit on nonfiction writing and began writing another nonfiction book. We practiced teaching with pictures as well as words, spelling domain-specific words, and using readers to point out parts of our stories that don’t make sense.
Word Study –We continued examining common word endings to make sure we read all the parts of words. We practiced hunting for blends and chunks at the ends of words (such as ing, ink, est). When we know these word parts well, we can read and write bigger, multisyllabic words!
Reading– This week we continued to work on making good habits for when we read hard words. We practiced crashing small word parts we knew together to make the whole word, doing a slow check to check all the sounds, and checking if the words looked right, sounded right and made sense. We didn’t let hard words get in our way!
Math– We are wrapping up unit 3 which has been all about story problems! We took our last quiz and spent the remainder of the week reviewing for our test next week. This can be a tricky unit for our kiddos due to increased reading and figuring out what the numbers represent (partner or the total). We will continue to practice and build on these skills!
Social Emotional– This week we picked back up with Little Penguin- Emotions and the Brain. We are continuing to learn about self management of our own emotions. We learned about the parts of the brain (amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex) and how they control our emotions.
Thank you so much for the generous cards, gifts, and love! I feel incredibly thankful to have the best job in the world. Teaching your children is such a blessing. I hope you and your families have time to relax and make memories together over the next two weeks.
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to RYLEIGH for always showing kindness.
First Grade Family Time – Here are our “award-winning” first graders from this week’s family time.
Holiday Party – Thank you to all of the parents who donated supplies to help make our holiday party a success. We had so much fun!
OUR LEARNING:
Reading– We continued our nonfiction reading unit! We worked on chatting about nonfiction books and doing a nonfiction 5-finger retell.
Writing – We finished up our All About Christmas books!
Math – Students solved mixed addition and subtraction story problems. They are really getting the hang of finding the total and partners, then making a math mountain to solve.
Word Study – This week students learned that digraphs can come at the end of words, too!
Social Studies – We traveled to India, America (where we learned about Kwanza), Mexico, Germany, and Sweden. Our class was especially excited to make gingerbread houses in Germany!
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to SUTTON for always being true to herself!
First Grade Family Time – Here are our “award-winning” first graders from this week’s family time.
OUR LEARNING:
Reading– This week we began our nonfiction reading unit! We worked on taking a sneak peek at non-fiction books, studying each page, and thinking about the topic before, during, and after reading.
Writing – We have been working on our All About… Non-Fiction Writing. We finished up Lions this week and started All About Christmas.
Math – We continued work with story problems. We focused in on subtraction story problems and addition story problems with a missing partner. First graders can solve these problems by making a math mountain! Please continue having your child do 5 minutes of MobyMax fact fluency each evening.
Word Study – We started our Tip to Tail Unit! This unit is about looking at words all the way through. We have been focusing on word endings this week. We have looked at -ing, plurals (s/es), and -ed.
Social Emotional – Our Kindness North Pole Ninja came for a visit! He brought us a kindness book and a challenge for each day!
Social Studies – This week we traveled to England, France, and Israel! We learned all about how people in these countries celebrate the holidays.
We made it through our first week of remote learning! I am looking forward to seeing all of your children back at school for in-person learning on Wednesday, December 9th. Here are all of the items that you need to send back with your child:
Specials-to-go bag
Gym Shoes
Blue Folder
Baggie Books
Please leave everything else at home in a safe place. If we have to do remote learning after our 2-week holiday break, this will ensure that your child already has learning materials at home!
When we return to in-person learning, we will be learning all about holidays around the world and celebrating together at our holiday party! We will be doing crafts, making gingerbread houses, and even having a Polar Express party. Shhhh… these will be surprises for our class! We will need some supplies to make these activities a success for our first graders. If you would like to donate something for our holiday festivities, please sign up here. Donations will be due by Friday, December 11.
OUR LEARNING:
Writing – We began our new unit on nonfiction writing. We worked together to start a nonfiction book all about lions!
Math – We began our new unit on finding the missing partner in addition equations.
Reading – This week we learned about letter twins (2 consonants in the middles of words), sticky letters (3 letters at the beginning of a word before a vowel), contractions, and compound words!
*This is the schedule we will follow every day EXCEPT Wednesdays. On Wednesdays we will have a morning meeting at 9:00 am and then flex time. Please view my Calendly to make a one-on-one appointment with me during Wednesday morning office hours.
The annual P.E. C.A.R.E.S food drive began on November 4. We are asking for your help by bringing in non-perishable food items for Love Inc. in Hudsonville. Food items to consider are canned vegetables and fruits, pasta, rice, baked beans, black beans, kidney beans, peanut butter, tuna fish, etc. (please no ramen noodles, and please do not break apart packaged food) The food drive will continue until Nov. 18. We will be keeping track of how many items each class brings in. The class with the most items brought in by NOON on Nov. 18 will win a P.E. C.A.R.E.S t-shirt and a bowling trip to Hudsonville Lane. (If allowed this year) This is a great opportunity for our students to care for their community, to teach our kids compassion and love for others. Thanks for sharing in this service project with us at Georgetown.
Our class will be previewing the Scholastic Book Fair on Tuesday, November 17th and shopping on Thursday, November 19th.
I am looking forward to virtual parent teacher conferences this week! Please fill out this form before our conference to help make the most of our time together.
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to EMMITT for always making smart choices!
First Grade Family Time – Here are our “award-winning” first graders from this week’s family time.
Mystery Reader – Madeline’s mom surprised us as a mystery reader this week!
OUR LEARNING:
Reading– This week we learned more about snap words! Snap words help our reading become easier and also help us solve more tricky words.
Writing – We continued working on our very one how-to writing pieces. Students also learned more about 5 star writing!
Math – We reviewed addition and subtraction at the beginning of the week and had our unit 2 test on Wednesday! Our class did great, I am so proud of their hard work and determination in math!
Word Study – This week we learned about the vowel teams ee and ea, which both say the long e sound in words. We also spent some extra time reviewing the bossy e that makes the other vowels say their names.
The annual P.E. C.A.R.E.S food drive began on November 4. We are asking for your help by bringing in non-perishable food items for Love Inc. in Hudsonville. Food items to consider are canned vegetables and fruits, pasta, rice, baked beans, black beans, kidney beans, peanut butter, tuna fish, etc. (please no ramen noodles, and please do not break apart packaged food) The food drive will continue until Nov. 18. We will be keeping track of how many items each class brings in. The class with the most items brought in by NOON on Nov. 18 will win a P.E. C.A.R.E.S t-shirt and a bowling trip to Hudsonville Lane. (If allowed this year) This is a great opportunity for our students to care for their community, to teach our kids compassion and love for others. Thanks for sharing in this service project with us at Georgetown.
The November Scholastic book order was sent home last Friday. In the past, I have had some parents order these as holiday gifts. If this is something you are interested in, please let me know. When your order comes in I can leave it in the office for you to pick-up so that your kiddos don’t see them!
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to MAHLEK for always helping his classmates and teachers!
First Grade Family Time – Here are our “award-winning” first graders from this week’s family time.
Mystery Reader – Celia’s mom surprised us as a mystery reader this week!
OUR LEARNING:
Reading – This week we completed our first bend in our Word Detective unit. During our Reader’s Workshop on Friday, the Super Secret Detective Agency knocked on our door and delivered a top secret envelope. The envelope contained word detective badges and certificates for our first grade readers.
Writing – We began working on our very own “how-to” stories. I was so impressed by the creative ideas our class had!
Math – We began comparing addition and subtraction problems by labeling the total (T) and partners (P) in the addition equation and seeing which one is missing in the subtraction equation to find the answer. We also started doing vertical addition and subtraction problems.
Word Study – This week we learned that the silent e makes vowels e, i, o, and u say their names!
Nature Walk – With the warm weather on Friday, we decided to go on a nature walk!
Please sign up for a 15 minute time slot for a virtual Zoom conference. You will get an email and text message with the link for the conference.
CELEBRATIONS:
Quote of the Week – This week’s quote went to ADDISON for always doing her best and never giving up!
Mystery Reader – Addison’s mom surprised us as a mystery reader this week! She even introduced us to their dog, Finn!
Star Prize – We met our next star prize and earned recess on the 4th and 5th grade playground this week!
Fall Party – Our class had such a fun time at our fall party! Here are some pictures from our celebration.
OUR LEARNING:
Reading– This week we began our second unit of reading which is all about being word detectives. The Super Secret Detective Agency delivered us a top secret envelope with 5 missions for our class to complete. This week we completed two missions!
Writing – We began our second writing unit, “How-To Writing.” Rasheed taught the class how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich this week with his mentor text for us! We began working together to write a how-to piece on how to wash your hands.
Math – We continued solving subtraction equations with circle drawings this week. Our class did great on this week’s quiz!
Word Study – This week we began our second word study unit, all about the mystery of the silent e. We worked on sorting words with the vowel ‘a’ that did and did not have an e at the end of the word. In words without an ‘e’ at the end, the ‘a’ said its short vowel sound. In words with an ‘e’ at the end, the ‘a’ said its long vowel sound.
